


The Fragile Threads We Weave

by Luvless34



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, On The Way To A Smile: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Acceptance, F/M, Family, Forgiveness, Friendship/Love, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-25 23:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30096951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luvless34/pseuds/Luvless34
Summary: Cloud Strife returned home after his stint with Geostigma, but Tifa fears that the life she wants will snap and break again. One night, she decides to ask Cloud what’s been hiding inside her heart and the answer she gets is not what she expected. One-Shot.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart & Cloud Strife
Kudos: 13





	The Fragile Threads We Weave

Tifa Lockhart suddenly jolted herself awake, sitting upright. Her dark bangs clung to her forehead with sweat, prompting her to try and move them aside as she breathed slowly to calm her racing heart. Her fingers traced the quilt on the bed, the seams starting to unravel and the fabric pilled, yet she found some comfort in running the threads in between her fingers. 

The bartender gently reached out next to her, and to her relief, felt a solid mass shift ever so slightly. She rose from bed and slipped out quietly into the hallway. Across from their room, was a closed door that led into the children’s bedroom where Denzel and Marlene slept. 

Tifa silently checked in on the children. The door creaked open as she slowly peered into the darkened space. Denzel and Marlene were sound asleep in their beds, the moonlight poured through the windows. Their blanketed forms were nestled and the only noise that the bartender could hear was their quiet breathing. 

_ As long as they’re able to feel safe here, then that should be enough...right?  _ Tifa watched the children sleep some more before closing the door and returned to her own bedroom. She closed the door behind her and sighed. Ever since the family unit got back together, Tifa feared that everything would be lost again. 

It could be her own insecurities, but doubts bubbled beneath the surface as she quietly returned to bed. She tucked herself in and stared up at the ceiling where a fan slowly whirled around. As she watched the blades twirl, Tifa’s eyes grew heavier. No matter how much she tried to tell herself that this was her family and her home, the dark thoughts continued to eat at her. 

_ Just because we’re living together....doesn’t mean we’re a family,  _ Tifa thought sadly. Ever since Cloud Strife left the family and took solace in the old Sector 5 Church during his stint with Geostigma, there was something that he took from Tifa—trust. 

Everything about the life she was creating with Cloud was beautiful, despite how others might see a small family. Yet, Tifa was reminded of how fragile it all was. She knew that the ties that she tried to create in this little world of hers snapped when Geostigma infested the ones she loved most. Despite the boys recovering from their illness, Tifa never truly recovered from that feeling of helplessness. She was haunted by those fears every night, even with Cloud sleeping next to her again. 

“Tifa?”

The bartender looked over and found that Cloud was awake. His mako-blue eyes that mirrored the night sky glowed mysteriously as he slowly sat himself upright next to her. It took months for Cloud to come back to Seventh Heaven, yet, it was only recently within the last few days that he returned to his spot in the same bed that he shared with Tifa. 

They were still on the mend. “I’m sorry, did I wake you?” Tifa tried to ask as kindly as she could, but her voice gave away her true feelings. She could imagine Cloud staring at her, yet Tifa couldn’t bear to look at him directly in the eyes. 

“I feel silly,” Tifa admitted to him. She stared at the floral print on the covers, her carmine eyes focused on the delicate patterns. She didn’t want to bring up her concerns to Cloud, afraid that if she poured her heart out to him that the immensity would drive him to leave again. 

“About what?”

”I don’t know if I should bring it up.”

“Why?”

“We don’t need to go through it again.” Tifa shook her head. “Really. It’s nothing.”

Though she couldn’t see his face, Tifa could still feel his eyes peering at her. There was a long uncomfortable silence that threatened to break, yet there were no words exchanged. The stillness felt so heavy, and Tifa couldn’t bear to hold it in anymore. 

“What is this?” She asked. 

“What’s...what?”

“This…” Tifa motioned around her. Cloud seemed confused, and so, Tifa decided to just be straight forward. “We live together. We sleep together. We eat together. We’re raising kids together. What is  _ this _ ?”

There was a long pause, and Tifa grew frightened that what she said might’ve been too much. She was more afraid that what she said might reveal an answer that she possibly didn’t want to hear, or it might lead to something that she was afraid to venture. They wanted normalcy, but what was considered normal to them? 

Cloud seemed to be searching for the right words. “It’s whatever you want it to be.”

“That’s not good enough,” Tifa shot back. Her frustrations were threatening to burst her calm demeanor. “It’s one thing for what I want, but Cloud, I want to know what  _ you  _ want.”

“What do I want?”

“Yeah.”

“I want you to be happy.” Cloud sat himself upright. He appeared troubled. “What’s wrong, Tifa?”

“You left.”

Tifa gritted her teeth. Tears threatened to roll down her face. She didn’t want to say it, but she kept it in for so long that she needed to say something. “I want to know why I wasn’t good enough for you.”

Something shattered. One of the threads that Tifa thought would break snapped. There was almost a chilly feeling that lingered in the air, but now that she said the words she feared to ask, there was no turning back. The bartender placed her face into her hands and tried to steady her breathing. Her anxiety continued to build and she felt almost as if she was about to break. 

“What?” He seemed taken aback. Tifa was surprised by the tone of shock in his voice. “What do you mean, you weren’t good enough for me?”

“Why wasn’t I good enough for you, Cloud?” Tifa asked. She felt herself shake. “Why wasn’t I good enough for you to stick around? Why couldn’t you trust me? Did you mean what you said that you were going to be OK because you had me this time?”

“Tifa...that’s not it at all.”

“Then why--” Tifa then felt ashamed as she blurted out the next insecurity that rose underneath. “Did you think I would be some type of replacement for Aerith and I failed to live up to expectations? Or was I just someone you could live with so you wouldn’t have to be alone?”

She immediately regretted those words. Aerith Gainsborough, fated to lie at the bottom of the spring outside of the Forgotten City, died and took a part of Cloud’s heart with her when she was murdered in cold blood. Tifa never once thought of Aerith as her rival nor was she jealous of her affections for Cloud...but she was jealous of how easy the flower girl made everything look. Now that she was openly pouring her inner thoughts and feelings, Tifa felt she couldn’t recognize herself and how venomous her words sounded. 

She subconsciously touched the pink ribbon tied around her left arm. It felt like a distant memory when everyone in Avalanche got together and decided on remembering her this way. For the last two years, the ribbon she wore grew frayed and discolored, yet she kept donning it every day. 

It felt almost painful to keep holding onto the past, meaning they wouldn’t be able to move ahead with their future. But Tifa continued to look at herself painfully, almost as if trying to move Cloud forward with his life meant that he would have to leave Aerith behind, which was not what she wanted. She also felt guilty about whether her relationship with Cloud would mean disrespecting whatever love Aerith had for him. 

“I’m sorry, Cloud...I didn’t mean it like that,” Tifa said, shaking her head. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“It’s fine, Tifa.” His voice sounded level and calm.

“I guess, no matter how hard we try, our past will always continue to haunt us.” Tifa rested her head on her knees as she pulled them up towards her chest. “I wanted to believe that maybe if we took things day by day, we’d eventually find our new normal. But…”

“You’re wrong.”

“Huh?”

“I left because  _ I  _ wasn’t strong enough for you. If I stayed...then I would fail at protecting you from breaking your heart. I just didn’t want to let you down again. So when I got sick...I just thought it’d be best to leave and have you hate me, so the pain of me dying wouldn’t be as hard.”

“Cloud?”

Tifa couldn’t help herself as she started to cry. The fighter broke into millions of pieces, she wanted nothing more to just feel connected to Cloud again and to believe his words. She just wanted to trust him again, but the threads were cut and it wouldn’t be like it was before. 

“You’re all I have left.”

“That’s not true.”

It was then Tifa felt something wrap around her gently, and to her surprise, it was Cloud trying to hold her and comfort her. She hesitated only for the briefest moment, remembering how the last time he tried to hug her he squeezed too hard and almost hurt her. But this time, it was the right amount of pressure and his embrace enfolded her like the warmth of sunlight. 

“I’m sorry.” Tifa sobbed into his chest. 

“We’re not the same people we were two years ago, seven years ago, from the time we were kids,” he said quietly. “I might not be the Cloud you remembered. I don’t feel like I’m the same person anymore. You’re not the same person I remember either. We’re just...different people now. Things changed.”

“Cloud…”

“We both keep holding onto what could’ve been or who we used to be. But, now, things are different. We’re different.” The young man then held Tifa’s hands in his. The calluses from all those battles covered his otherwise gentle hold. Tifa noted the number of scars that were faint and faded, yet they were present. Permanently a part of Cloud’s story.

“Tifa?”

” I want to be able to trust you again.”

”I know. I’m sorry, Tifa.”

”But I need to know that you trust me.”

”I do.”

Tifa closed her carmine eyes and silently felt her heart beat slower and she could almost put herself at ease. “I want to get to know you again.”

Then without much prompting, she slowly shifted herself on the bed so that she was sitting right in front of Cloud.

”Tifa?”

“I’m just getting a closer look at you,” she muttered. Tifa traced his scars delicately with her fingers, and Cloud’s gaze followed her movement. She then flipped his hand to reveal his palm and then held her own up against his. Tifa noted how even her hands, as elegant as they were in a fight, were no better. They were covered in burns and scars and from working hard at the bar. 

“We’re more alike than you think,” Tifa said, her eyes sparkling. “I keep forgetting that.”

“Hm?”

Tifa slowly lifted her t-shirt over her head, prompting Cloud to blush a fierce red. She was wearing a sports bra underneath and revealed a huge scar that slashed across her chest. It was then, something registered with Cloud, as he too, slowly removed his own shirt. 

The young woman’s ruby eyes glistened at the sight of numerous battle scars that marred his flesh, and yet, there was one that stood out to her. It was directly in the center of his chest, the stab wound that was inflicted upon the man when he was only 16 by his boyhood hero, Sephiroth. 

“Gil for your thoughts?” Cloud asked softly. 

“We share the same scars,” Tifa said sadly. She slowly reached out, and gently traced the scar with her fingertips, noting how warm Cloud felt. “Given by the same sword, by the same person. Our loved ones and our hometown were taken away from us.”

She couldn’t help but feel the steady heartbeat as Tifa gently removed her hand. “We keep thinking we’re different, but we’re the same. There’s no one on this Planet who shares this much in common as we do with each other.”

Cloud slowly nodded, seemingly understanding what Tifa was trying to tell him. Tifa then shook her head. “But I don’t want you to choose me just because I’m the only person left from your past...you’re not obligated to stay.”

She then smiled a broken smile. “I try to prove everyday that I’m strong and that I can carry on living to atone for my sins. But Cloud...I want you to make your own choices. You don’t have to live here if you don’t want to. We don’t have to be a family if you don’t—“

“Tifa.”

There was a long silence, and at first Tifa wondered if perhaps the illusion of what their home was to them finally shattered and that Cloud would be heading out the door.

Instead, Cloud gently kissed her forehead. Tifa blushed pink. “I need to keep living and I’ll be forgiven. But what I won’t forgive myself for is if I never tell you what you mean to me.”

He gently touched Tifa’s face. His intense blue eyes basked in the moonlight. That glow of mako…

“I believe in us. I believe I will be OK because I have you this time.”

“You’ve always had me.”

“What I mean is kind of different.” He then smiled one of his rare smiles that would light up the heavens and shame the light of any star. Tifa then knew what Cloud meant.

He chose her. 


End file.
